Council Land & Leasehold Properties Graham Sabourn, Head of - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Council Land & Leasehold Properties Graham Sabourn, Head of Housing Andrea Frow, Senior Valuation Officer Property Services Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

the housing market challenge� � High demand for housing, particularly in central Bath � City centre 1/2 bed flat costs an average of £200,000/£358,000 � Require £46,000/£81,000+ p.a. income to purchase & £40,000/£72,000 deposit. � Excludes over ¾ of potential first time buyers � Average city centre 1/2 bed flat rent is £723/949 p.m. � Affordability test = £34,000/£46,000+ p.a. � Receive up to 300 bids for social housing properties in city centre � How to encourage a balanced & sustainable housing market in this environment Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

potential levers� � Policy levers, including � Encouraging & enabling appropriate development, � Effective regulation etc. � Strategic use of Council assets, including: � Council land, � Existing leasehold properties Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

strategic use of Council land� � Significant land owner � Surplus land generally offered to open market, however, option to dispose at less than market in specific cases, e.g. for social housing � However , any effective subsidy would be at expense of corporate income Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

strategic use of leasehold properties� � Number of leasehold flats within the City Centre, comprising: � 8 “Living Over the Shops Scheme” units developed in partnership with Knightstone Housing; � 62 Other residential units of which 56 are in partnership with Curo � Various hand-back options � LOTS – break clauses over next few years � Curo – when a property becomes vacant Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

joined up thinking� � HCA SIGNET project partnership � Working corporately provide housing option appraisal for each Council site � Evaluate options for leasehold properties � Future paper to SMT and Cabinet for steer/decision Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit

issues that will need to addressed� � Competing demands – estate income cf. social housing � Establishing most effective use of resources: � High market value - better to reinvest capital receipt elsewhere? � Modern energy efficient social housing cf. old inefficient housing � However, land availability issue, particularly in City Centre � Engaging with existing leaseholders – SR/ART/PR options � How important is a balanced & sustainable housing market & ultimately how much do we want to intervene to influence? Bath and North East Somerset – The place to live, work and visit